Double-acting slider



Feb. 20, 1951 C. S. ANDERSON DOUBLE-ACTING SLIDER Filed May 9, 1946 TTORNEYS Patented e). 20, 1,951

to Crown FastenerCor a corporation'of D'elaw poration,u Warren,- lti- L, are

Appiicaiion'mayafls'i-t, seriallN-b. Vi6-seize e anims. (c1. .2i-205.115)

This-.invention relatesJ tosliders for so-called.

slide fasteners and, in particular, .toI what for convenience may be termed a double-acting slider, by whichA is meant. aslider which when applied to 'appropriateiastener stringers is eifective to mesh the fastener elements no matter atA which end of the slider the elements happen tobe uncoupled. Normally, a slider `incorporating=theusual Y-shaped channel (of which the divergentchannelY end ymay .be termed the head otrthev slider and vthe, single channel end the tail)` is advanced head first to mesh the'fastener elementsand the coupled stringere emerge from. the tail ofY the slider; and,- co'nversely, the slider ismovedtail first to uncouple the stringersi On:` occasion, the fastener elements become uncoupled` behind or beyond the tail of the slider and itis extremely laborious to re-couple them byhand,=. as has usually been necessary, in order to.' free the slider for-movement in the uncoupling direction Thedouble-acting slider to which the present invention relates. isconstructed to mover with equal. facility'in eitherfdirection and to re-*f ceive the: Stringer. elements smoothly even whenA the. slider ismoved tail rst toward uncoupled relements andwithout regard to the position in# which suchl elements happen to'v be presented to,

the; opening; in the tailf end ofi the slider.

The invention will be understood from`V the acicompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 isa broken-outzplan view of a preferredA form of slider construction;-

Fig. 2 isan end view of.V the same slider,- that' islok1n'g at. the tail eiid.; Y.

Fig.3' isa side view of. the tail end ofthe: slider ;t and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one'. forrnot' fastener. element which is particularly' Well suited' for use; with the. slider'Y of this invention.

The slider includes the usual'upper and' lowerVv walls I 2 spaced by a web member 3 adjacent' the'head end of tlieslid'er;v and extending.' along the side edges of the walls I, 2 are the usuall weils 2. and atleast in part in the pre-jectmgl` f portions of them;y isa central longitudinallyex# is represented by-th'e line- 8, extends upgrade'-5 convenience maybe referred-toas the neri-'rialV from the eXtreme'ed-ge ofthetail of the slider, thatis, from the point 9 toA the point Hi.'r At'tlie i point .1L-thethickness of' wallVv 2" is greatly reduced;- l1 whileat` the point' l'the' thickness iswhat f "l wall thickness, that is,-tlie1thickness of the Wall throughouttli-e balance of`` ths-lider channelV porf tions.- Prefera'iily, andas illustrated, the valley? bottom extends into; the slidertola point' beyond the near endsofthe angesl6,lf1. i This l parti-cular Slider yis adap'tecll for' die-caste* ing` and it is preferred therefore, thatrtheside* slopes? of the val-ley; an`d-such otherbevi-ils?A as*- are provided, as below desczrilieii,VV be formed as plane surfaces, such surfaces also 'ha-ving@ beenl reune. ter premiere-r smooth operatie-'n andere all workingcondi-tions of theslde'r. In-this instaric therefore, the side slepes--ofthe valley comprise-S thel plane triangular' surfaces Hi', l-'f extending@ laterally from the valleybottorn'e' to'- points f i I4: adjacent: Grat the foot or une respectiv'ely..V The balance of the projecting portioiiof Wall 2,5 and. particularly `in tliis rectangular for lncorporates two additionalll-plane 'triangular faces er bevelsfl, |.6,ccntig'uoiis with the v'all'eyslopes. ilL i2; respectively,V and sloping froini the adjacent boundaries of the vlatterk to thelextre'me'i edge of the wallv 2 substantially throughout'its/:

=entire width. The angle or'slop'e' of these' sure:

faces i5, |6- is such asto-f conform thethickness-z of thetail. edge of Wall 2 to'its thickness atthea point 9.;

vlii-nalmit is preferred vto reduce the-thickness.;

2 by means of laterallysloped bevel surfacesA i?, I8,- con-tiguouswiththesurfac'es l5, I 6, respec-'ftively. As stated above andfillustrated;the'proejecting portion of Wall--l isv formed with a valley- According to the present'inyention a portion of each of the walls I and 2 projects beyond the ends of thezfangesv 4-*7' at the tail end of the sliderland, preferably, to anniform extent across the full width of the slider. Inother Words,- the tail end of this form oi slider is rectangular', as viewedin plan, and the angesA-T terminate short of the extreme end-of the-slider. l

Formed. in the inner surface-ofeachof the and` bevel surfacesj-ust like those describedwith reference to theprojecting--porti'oniof wall 2.

The scoop orv Yfastener elet-nentV illustrated in- Fig. 4 isfof a well known type, including amount` ing `end portion i9 embracing the beaded edge 292i,f of a tape 2i" and a projecting coupling portion incorporating a reduced neck 2.2a11d' al headk 23,7? the element being ciYV inverted V-shaped crossi section. throughout its entire lengtl'i.` Asl is wellunderstood",y the reduced neckl receives the head;-

3 of an element of a companion stringer, to provide interlock against pull-apart separation, and the V-section mates with the V-section of the element of the companion stringer to provide interlock against transverse separation.

While the slider of this invention is by no means limited in its utility to stringers equipped with fastener elements of the kind shown in Fig. 4, it is of particular benefit in that connection, especially in the preferred form illustrated.

In the tail-first movement of a slider toward uncoupled elements, it is found that minimum dfculty is experienced in making the tail end opening of the slider receive such elements if the stringers are maintained in a common plane, as when they are laid out on a flat surface; but, in practical use, the stringers are rarely so arranged, and, depending on the degree of twisting or other distortion to which the tapes may be subjected, the fastener elements may be presented to the tail end opening of the slider in a great variety of positions unsuitable for the free entry of the elements into the slider channel. Also, in some instances, the elements tend to block each other, resulting in complete fouling of the stringers.

, By means of the central, longitudinally extending valley provided in the projecting wall portions, as herein contemplated, the foregoing objections and difficulties are eliminated and the elements are found to enter the slider smoothly under what would otherwise be quite impossible conditions. The central valley slopes, supplemented by the contiguous bevels, serve to reorient fastener elements which are so displaced from the central plane of the slider as to have difficulty entering the slider channel, and serve also to ensure the correct order of entry of the elements of the respective stringere, thus ensuring correct meshing and preventing the elements from blocking one another. Furthermore, with a slider of the kind described, it is found that the foregoing advantages result with elements of the form illustrated in Fig. 4 regardless of the direction in which the slider happens to be applied to the stringers; that is, Without regard to whether the element enters the tail end opening of thev slider with the point of the V ahead, or in the reverse position.

It being understood that the details of the in- Vention may be modified to suit the exigencies of particular cases, the following is claimed:

l' 1. In a slider of the kind including upper and lower walls which are spaced by a web member adjacent the head end of the slider and which have upstanding anges extending along their side edges: a portion of the upper and of the lower wall projecting beyond the said flanges at the tail end of the slider and to a uniform extent across the full width of the slider, a central, longitudinally extending valley formed in the inner surface of each of said projecting portions, the bottom of each said valley extending from a point of reduced wall thickness at the extreme edge of the tail end of the slider to a point of normal wall thickness beyond the near ends of the said anges, the side slopes of the valley comprising triangular plane surfaces extending laterally from the valley bottom each to a point adjacent the near end of one of the said flanges, the balance of the projecting portions of the said walls incorporating triangular plane bevel surfaces contiguous with said rst-mentioned plane surfaces and sloping from the adjacent boundaries of the latter to the extreme edges of the tail end of the slider substantially throughout the width thereof and at an angle to conform the said tail edges to the thickness of the walls at the said points of reduced thickness, and also incorporating laterally sloped bevel surfaces contiguous with the second-mentioned plane bevel surfaces and serving to reduce the thickness of the side edges of the projecting wall portions.

2. In a slider of the kind including upper and lower walls which are spaced by a web member adjacent the head end of the slider and which have upstanding flanges extending along their side edges, and in which portions of the said upper and lower walls project beyond the said flanges at the tail end of the slider: a central, longitudinally extending valley formed in the inner surface of each of said projecting portions, the bottom of each said valleyextending from a point of reduced Wall thickness at the extreme edge of the tail end of the slider to a point of normal wall thickness beyond the near ends of the said anges, the side slopes of the valley comprising triangular plane surfaces extending laterally from the valley bottom each to a point adacent the near end of one of the said flanges, the balance of the projecting portions of the said walls incorporating triangular plane bevel surfaces contiguous with said first-mentioned plane surfaces and sloping from the adjacent boundaries of the latter to the extreme edges of the tail end of the slider substantially throughout the width thereof and at an angle to conform the saidtail edges to the thickness of the walls at the said pointsl of reduced thickness, and also incorporating laterally sloped bevel surfaces contiguous with the second-mentioned plane bevel surfaces.

3. In a slider of the kind including upper and lower walls which are spaced by a web member adjacent the head end of the slider and which have upstanding flanges extending along their side edges: a portion of the upper and of the lower wall projecting beyond the said flanges at the tail end of the slider and to a uniform extent across the full Width ofthe slider, a central, lon gitudinally extending valley formed in the inner surface of each of said projecting portions, the bottom of each said valley extending from a point of reduced wall thickness at the extreme edge of the tail end of the sliderto a point of normal wall thickness beyond the near ends of the said flanges, the side slopes of the valley comprising surfaces extending laterally from the valley bottom to points of normal wall thickness, the balance of the projecting portions of the said walls incorporating bevel surfaces contiguous with said slide slope surfaces and sloping to the extreme edges of the tail end of the slider and also incorporating laterally sloped surfaces contiguous with said bevel surfaces and serving to' reduce the thickness of the side edges of the projecting wall portions.

CHARLES S. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,969,270 Legat Aug. 7, 1934 2,068,939 Winterhalter Jan. 26, 1937 2,078,745 Ulrich Apr. 17, 1937 2,092,538` Sundback Sept. 7, 1937 2,178,949 Brozek Nov. 7, 1939 

